


Dog Days

by devilatwork (dorkdevil)



Category: Saints Row
Genre: After 'Red Asphalt', Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, One Shot, Saints Row 2 - Freeform, Unexplored Emotions, probably not satisfying but I wanted to get this out of my head, self-harm...ish? punching walls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27662192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkdevil/pseuds/devilatwork
Summary: Saint's Row 2, around "Jail Bait" missionPlaya is struggling with Carlos' death, so Johnny tries to cheer him up somehow.
Relationships: Boss (Saints Row)/Johnny Gat, Male Boss (Saints Row)/Johnny Gat
Kudos: 14





	Dog Days

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlexBlacklight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexBlacklight/gifts).



“Just shut the fuck up for a damn minute!” 

Up to Carlos’ death, Johnny couldn’t remember a single instance where his boss had shown signs of weakness or struggle in the face of the adversities he had to endure as the Saints’ leader. Neither had Johnny fallen victim to the more aggressive moods his boss sometimes directed at his other subjects on bad and worse days.  
It was all the more surprising when it eventually happened, about a week after Carlos’ tragic passing, and it had Johnny stop in his tracks when he had been about to approach his boss regarding updates on the Brotherhood.   
  


Gat raised a puzzled eyebrow and watched his boss tense up, then quickly avert his eyes. Everybody knew that their friend’s death weighed heavy on their boss’ mind but, knowing they were both used to gang life, Johnny had disregarded to which extent it had changed him. Until then, that was.

Uneasy silence hung between them for a moment, before Johnny stepped closer and nudged the handle of his shotgun against Playa’s shoulder for him to grab.    
  
“Come on, let’s go.”   
  
The Saints’ boss hesitated, then grabbed the offered weapon and lifted himself off the couch. He still avoided Gat’s gaze.

“Where’re we going?”

“To let off some steam.”

  
  


News had reached the Saints that some members of the Brotherhood were scheduled to be released from prison that day and Gat figured that there were few better ways to brighten one’s mood than through murder and explosions. It usually did the trick when either of them was having a bad day.   
  
Blowing up the three prison buses carrying the enemy gang members really got Johnny’s blood pumping and the four prison boats that followed were the cherry on top, making the mission a full success in Gat eyes.

Only that Playa did not seem to share Johnny’s enthusiasm over their victory and remained quiet as they drove back towards the Saints’ crib.  


“How ‘bout we make a stop at Freckle Bitch’s to top it all off?” Johnny suggested, suspecting that their little trip had cheered up himself more than his friend. “All that blowin’ shit up got me starving.”

“Sure.” Playa answered curtly and turned the car around to head for the fast food restaurant instead.

It wasn’t uncommon for Johnny to be the prime source of talking at their “Freckle Bitch’s dates” as Aisha had labeled them with rolling eyes, but at least they usually held eye-contact during their conversations. Alas, Playa still seemed rather uncomfortable around his best friend, who was starting to get pissed by that situation.    
In the end they finished their burgers in silence before they drove home, both more upset than they had been before.  
  


  
When they reached the run-down building, Playa simply stepped out of the car and headed inside. Johnny followed him with his eyes for a moment, before he jumped out as well and caught up, deciding he wasn’t just going to stand by idly anymore.   
  
“If there’s something on your mind, just spit it out, man! We’re all upset about what happened but it won’t get better if you just let it eat away at you.”

Playa who apparently had been trying to keep it together snapped at the comment and whirled around to face Gat, face twisted in anger.

“I had to fucking kill him, Gat!” He yelled, taking hold of the other’s purple collar. “I had to fucking put a bullet into his fucking head to release him from the pain! His-... His face…! His whole body-... Everything was unrecognizable because of the fucking shit those Brotherhood motherfuckers did to him! So don’t tell me about  _ you _ being upset or how to get better!  _ You _ didn’t have to put a fucking bullet into your dying friend’s face, Gat!”

Johnny calmly listened to his boss’ outbreak that ended with him releasing the collar again and stepping away to face the corridor wall beside them. Or so he thought until Playa picked it up again.

“He was a good kid. Risked everything just to save me, when I was stuck in prison and needed to get out. And I… I am just so fucking MAD I couldn’t save him, when  _ he _ needed me the most…!” Playa crashed his fist against the wall, bruising both the wall and his knuckle. More than painful, he found the sensation delivering and repeated it almost emphasizingly between his words. “HE. DESERVED. BETTER. THAN. FUCKING.  _ THIS- _ ”

Playa was interrupted when Johnny suddenly jerked him away from the blood-stained wall and landed a punch straight across Playa’s face that sent him stumbling back and onto the ground.   
  
“Snap out of it.” Gat growled, calm yet with a deep frown, before he dragged his boss back onto his feet. Johnny figured that his punch might have been too strong when the groggy man fell against his chest and reluctantly accepted that he wouldn’t be able to talk to Playa face-to-face in his current state. “Carlos didn’t die for crap like this.”

Playa didn’t answer, still seeing stars and supporting himself against his friend’s chest. Despite everything, the pain and sorrow, the anger and grief, the position was offered a strange comfort and Playa found his arms slowly wrapping themselves around Johnny’s firm torso. Careful at first, his grip soon turned into a crushing squeeze that exhausted him in a less painful yet more effective way than the wall-punch.

Johnny, who had idly waited for his boss to regain his senses was baffled about the unexpected embrace, but mirrored it in hopes of having found a less harmful way for Playa to drain out his feelings. His arms, too, squeezed his friend as tightly as he managed and he remained that way, even when the other’s body started shaking and he felt something wet against his neck.

He upheld his crushing embrace until the other’s shaking had stopped and he could feel Playa’s arms lightening their hold. He, too, released his boss from his locked hold and watched him run the ball of his hands over his wet eyes in silence.

“Thanks… I needed that.” Playa mumbled and drew a deep breath.

“Don’t mention it.” Johnny answered, still observing his boss as though to make sure he was actually better now. His eyes were a bit swollen and his cheeks tinted red, but his mood seemed different and Gat decided to find relief in that.

“Hey, I’m... going to lie down for a bit.” Playa spoke up once he had regained his composure and took a step towards the hallway downstairs. The corner of his mouth twitched briefly into a small smile to let the other man know that he was alright, and Johnny nodded in response.

“Alright, I’ll see you later.” Gat saw him off. “...And let me know if you need anything.”   
  
“Yeah. Thanks. See ya.”   
  
With that Playa disappeared at the end of the hall, leaving Johnny behind.    
Gat still hoped that their day out had actually helped his best friend let off some steam. What he didn’t know, however, was that more than anything else, it had been his embrace that had somewhat appeased his boss, and caused him to retreat into his room with blushed cheeks and a fluttering heart.


End file.
